The Lord of the Ringsis world-famous because of Peter Jackson, but the first ever live-action movie in the franchise was actually made long before the 2000s trilogy.Peter Jackson’sHobbitandLord of the Ringsmoviesput New Zealand on the map and madeLord of the Ringsa household name. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s two best-known books, these works made a cult classic a global sensation.Lord of the Ringsbolstered the hippy movement in the 1960s, embodying environmental themes that harked back to simpler times, and Sweden captured this 30 years before Peter Jackson.
A Czech production company called Rembrandt Films made the first on-screen adaptation set inLord of the Rings’world of Middle-earth. This 12-minuteHobbitadaptation from 1967 consisted of rudimentary animation. However,it was Bo Hansson who ended up making the world’s first live-actionLord of the Rings. Bo Hansson was a musical pioneer and Sweden’s first music export, famous globally before ABBA. He arguably forged the historical link betweenLord of the Ringsand the music industry, recordingMusic Inspired by Lord of the Ringsin 1969 and 1970, on which his 1971LotRmovie was based.
Sweden’s Sagan Om Ringen Is The First Ever Live-Action Lord Of The Rings Movie
Bo Hansson’s 1971 Movie Was Groundbreaking
The world’s first live-actionLord of the Ringspicture was Bo Hansson’sSagan om Ringen, released in 1971. Produced by Sveriges Television,the short aired on Swedish national TV in two partsand consisted of live-action footage set against hand-painted backgrounds.Sagan om Ringenincludes the only on-screen adaptation of one ofthe most powerful Elves inLord of the Rings, Glorfindel, and it is an uncannily apt adaptation at that. The second and finalLotRadaptation to be released in J.R.R. Tolkien’s lifetime and the only live-action one,Sagan om Ringenis a key piece ofLotRhistory.
Sweden’s Contribution To Lord Of The Rings Has Huge Global Importance
Lord of the Ringswas hugely inspired by Germanic myth, expert in this area as Tolkien was. Northern European countries like Sweden returned this love from the very beginning, with Scandinavia offering multiple world-first Tolkien adaptations.Sagan om Ringenput Glorfindel on screenslong beforeTheLord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingmovieretconned him into one scene via a trading card game. It also proves how many ways there are to adapt Tolkien, bringing in characters and scenes like Tom Bombadil and the Scouring of the Shire, which Peter Jackson famously cut from his movies.
Don’t Want To Read The Silmarillion? Listen To This 26-Year-Old Lord Of The Rings Metal Album Instead
The Lord of the Rings has more ties to heavy metal than many people suspect, with one album telling the story of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.
J.R.R. Tolkien was a scholar of Old Norse and basedthe Elvish language of Quenyaon Nordic languages and Welsh, inventing myriad Elvish languages around it. Northern European fairytales from the Brothers Grimm and Norse folklore informed the concepts of the One Ring, the Elves, and the Valar, andSagan om Ringenis the perfect response to this cultural importance.Sagan om Ringenis undeniably wild- the ring appears to be more of a bowl, and one narrator describes every event. A psychedelic product of its time, this contribution toThe Lord of the Ringsis unmissable for die-hard fans.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
